Publication  No.  2 


• ,     • 


Traveling  Notes  On 

Corytsa 

by 

T.  Vellianites 


Essayist,  Historian, 

and 

Deputy  to  the  Greek  Parliament 

Translated  by 

NICHOLAS   CULOLIAS,    LL.B1^ 

Published  by  the  Pan-Epirotic 

Union  of  America 

7  Water  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 


Printed  by  the 

PURITAN  LINOTYPE 

Cambridge,  Mass. 

1919 


•     •  • 
•  ••••, 


(Traveling  Notes) 


CORYTSA 


by 
T.  VELLIANITES 


Translated  by 
NICHOLAS  CULOLIAS,  LL.  B. 


*0* 


PREFACE 

"Associated  with  the  history  and  the  destinies  of  Greece, 
as  far  back  as  we  can  trace  the  distant  antiquity,  Epirus 
has  remained  through  the  centuries  the  hearth  of  Greek  cul- 
ture and  Greek  traditions.  It  suffices,  in  order  to  mark  the 
deep  Hellenic  character  of  this  province,  to  recall  that  it 
has  been  one  of  the  holy  lands  of  ancient  Greece,  and  that  she 
harbored  in  her  mountains,  at  a  small  distance  from  the 
modern  city  of  Jannina,  at  Dodona,  the  oracle  of  Zeus  him- 
self.    (Charles  Vellay,  L'irredentisme  hellenique  p.  13). 

"To  the  German  traveller  Weigand,  who  urged  certain  vil- 
lages to  give  up  the  Greek  schools,  the  Greek  churches,  and  the 
Greek  language  and  to  adopt  Albanian  such,  the  villagers  re- 
plied with  resentment,  'Albania  for  us  is  synonymous  with 
savagery;  our  fatherland  is  Epirus;  and  our  ancestor  Pyrrhus, 
the  Greek  King;  as  for  the  language,  we  prefer  to  pass  on  to 
our  children  an  instrument  perfected  by  our  learned  Greek  an- 
cestors, rather  than  hand  to  them  a  barbarian  instrument.  We 
are  daily  trying  to  draw  nearer  to  light,  to  civilization,  to 
Hellenism.'  " 

(Victor  Berard,  La  Turquie  et  l'hellenisme  contemporain, 
Ed.  2nd,  p.  49). 

"It  is  true  only  Italy  and  Greece  quarrel  on  the  ques- 
tion of  Epirus. 

"If  we  wish  to  form  a  good  opinion  of  the  state  of  mind 
of  the  diplomats  of  Italy,  we  should  consult  the  ethnographic 
maps  of  Southern  Albania,  such  as  are  circulated  in  Italy. 
Everything  is  falsified  at  will.  The  district  of  Korytsa  where 
more  than  one-half  the  population  is  Greek,  is  indicated  in 
these  Italian  maps  as  exclusively  Albanian;  the  districts  of 
Jannina  and  Delvinon,  where  the  Greeks  represent  eighty  per 
cent,  of  the  total  population  there,  are  indicated  in  these 
maps  as  Albanian  districts  with  here  and  there  a  few  thin 
groups  of  Greeks."  (George  Clemenceau,  L'homme  libre,  May 
15,   1913.) 


These  testimonies  to  the  hellenic  character  of 
Epirus  will  help  the  reader  of  this  excellent  treatise 
of  Mr.  Vellianites  to  grasp  the  Epirotic  difficulties 
the  easier.  Korytsa  is  Greek  in  the  opinion  of  all 
those  who  have  lived  long  enough  among  its  people 
to  have  been  able  to  feel  their  intense  attachment  to 
Greece.  The  reading  of  Mr.  Vellianites'  "Travel- 
ing Notes  on  Korytsa,''  besides  being  very  delight- 
ful, is  very  convincing  that  Korytsa  has  always 
been  a  centre  of  Greek  culture,  and  has  continued 
through  the  centuries  to  remain  hellenic  in  senti- 
ment, in  civilization,  in  culture,  and  in  aspirations. 


N.  J.  CASSAVETES, 
Director  of  the 
Pan- Epirotic  Union  of  America. 


7  Water  St.,   Boston,  Mass. 
January,  1919. 


CORYTSA. 

I. 

The  Italian  General  Ferero  was  kind  enough  to 
assign  an  automobile  for  me  and  to  place  at  my 
disposal  a  most  courteous  first  lieutenant  that  I 
might  more  easily  travel  the  road  from  Jannina  to 
Corytsa. 

These  measures  were  necessary  to  avoid  loss  of 
time  in  having  my  passports  examined  at  the  dif- 
ferent military  posts.  At  Kalipaki,  where  there  is 
the  first  Italian  post  from  Jannina,  I  was  received 
with  much  courtesy  by  the  Italian  officers  with 
whom  I  had  passed  the  previous  day  in  friendly 
intercourse. 

We,  Ionian  Islanders,  converse  freely  with  the 
Italians;  we  understand  their  language  very  well, 
and  have  delved  considerably  in  their  literature. 
The  dominion  of  Venice  of  four  hundred  years  or 
more  over  the  Ionian  Islands  has  left  something  of 
the  life,  of  the  civilization,  and  of  the  language  of 
Venetians  in  the  cities.  Outside  the  walls  of  the 
cities,  however,  the  Venetian  atmosphere  left  un- 
touched the  Greek  population,  which  remained 
pure  and  uncorrupted,  as  it  was  in  ancient  times. 
In  these  islands  there  were  no  incursions  of  foreign 
peoples,  no  crossings  of  other  races;  consequently, 
the  ancient  Greek  character  remained  pure  in  the 


Ionian  Islands,  and  the  ancient  Greek  blood  un- 
mixed. We,  the  older  inhabitants  of  the  cities  of 
the  Ionian  Islands,  still  converse  with  the  Italians 
in  their  own  tongue,  while  the  new  generation  is 
entirely  ignorant  of  the  Italian  language.  The 
Italian  First  Lieutenant  assigned  as  my  com- 
panion, was  a  Venetian,  and  spoke  the  Venetian 
dialect,  which  I  myself  can  use  with  some  facility, 
and  thus  immediate  friendly  relations  were  estab- 
lished between  us. 

With  much  willingness  the  officers  who  were  my 
hosts  led  me  through  the  bivouacs  of  that  small 
military  camp.  I  admired  also  the  reposeful  man- 
ner shown  by  the  Italian  soldier  at  mess  time.  Af- 
terwards we  followed  the  road  that  passes  through 
the  wild  and  woody  mountains  of  Epirus.  The 
view  was  indescribable.  The  brightness  of  the  sk}r 
and  the  clarity  of  the  atmosphere  was  such  that 
from  a  great  distance  could  be  distinguished  the 
beautiful  delineations  of  the  mountain  peaks,  be- 
hind which  one  could  imagine  the  Ionian  seas. 

Stream-ploughed  valleys  could  be  seen  from  the 
loftiness  of  the  road.  Crystal  waters  were  flowing 
down  from  the  rocks,  and  birds,  undisturbed  by  the 
constant  roaring  of  the  guns  at  the  distant  front, 
but  distinctly  heard  by  us,  were  singing  in  the 
thick-f oliaged  trees.  They,  too,  had  become  accus- 
tomed to  the  atmosphere  of  war.  The  landscape 
was  so  rich  and  various  in  its  beauty  that  it  seemed 
to  our  bewildered  eyes  like  the  unfolding  of  a  mov- 
ing picture  of  charming  scenery  not  easily  found 
in  other  lands. 

8 


Lofty  mountains  with  abrupt  precipices  and 
idyllic  valleys  abounding  with  flocks  of  sheep,  suc- 
ceeded each  other.  These  could  serve  as  scenery 
for  the  idyls  of  Moschos  and  Theocritos.  Usually, 
however,  the  abrupt  and  the  precipitous  appeared 
as  nature's  great  epic  and  inspired  in  our  souls  awe 
and  fear.  We  beheld  wondrous  phenomena  of 
nature. 

Those  proudly  rising  mountains  were  the  moun- 
tains of  Souli,  that  heroic  little  democracy,  which 
in  the  midst  of  the  autocracy,  despotism  and 
tyranny  of  Ali-Pasha,  maintained  its  independence, 
fighting  constantly  and  never  submitting  to  the 
force  of  brutality.  Those  other  mountains  were 
the  Acrokezavnia  and  beyond,  immortal  Pindus. 
Hero-breeding  mountains  these,  the  impregnable 
abodes  of  those  indomitable  fighters,  who,  fleeing 
the  valleys  where  the  conqueror  ruled,  were  there 
preparing  the  future  liberation  of  Greece.  Those 
heroes  did  never  compromise  with  the  new  regime. 
They  always  maintained  their  independence  in  the 
mountains  and  whenever  any  one  of  them  fell  or 
was  seized  and  his  bones  crushed  by  the  execu- 
tioner Ali-Pasha,  nature  mourned  the  loss  of  the 
hero,  as  if  some  Homeric  God  disappeared  from 
the  mountains.  Our  popular  muse  is  full  of  such 
threnology. 


"Kleane  ta  dendra  klaene;  klaene  ta    vouna;    klaene    ta 
korphoovunia  pou     limeriaze;   klaene  kae  e     vrysoules  me  to 
kryo  nero." 


9 


And  truly,  such  lamenting  of  eternal  nature  was 
appropriate  to  the  death  of  such  heroes,  who  from 
the  day  the  last  Greek  emperor  fell  before  the  Gate 
of  Romanos,  they  took  to  the  mountains  and  by 
fighting  for  centuries  the  Sultans,  protested  before 
the  civilized  world  against  force  and  arbitrariness 
which  destroyed  a  civilization  of  so  many  centuries. 

Every  mountain  peak,  every  crystal  fountain, 
every  tree  of  those  mountains  tells  a  story  and  a 
legend  about  the  indomitable  Klephts.  During  our 
passage  thither  were  reviving  in  my  memory  the 
stories,  traditions,  and  legends  with  which  the  life  of 
that  Greek  land  is  woven.  The  charming  imagina- 
tive creations  of  the  ancient  muse  and  the  person- 
alities of  the  great  heroes  of  Modern  Hellenism, 
whose  memory  remains  indelible  in  our  minds, 
pressed  themselves  upon  my  consciousness  and  en- 
livened that  mountain  world. 


II. 

It  was  indeed  there  that  the  first  roarings  of  the 
guns  against  tyranny  were  heard.  From  the 
depths  of  those  forests  sprang  up  the  immortal  folk 
songs  which  are  the  beginning  of  our  modern 
poetry.  Over  those  rough  and  rugged  roads, 
climbed  only  by  wild  goats,  traveled  for  centuries 
inspired  monks  who  brought  the  National  Oracles 
of  Agathangelos  and  heralded  the  Resurrection  of 
the  enslaved  Greek  race.  When  the  revolution 
broke  out,  which  for  ten  years  shook  from  its  very 

10 


foundations  the  then  vast  Ottoman  Empire,  it  was 
from  those  mountains  that  the  leaders  came  who 
guided  the  peasants  of  Peloponesos  and  Central 
Greece  to  victory,  to  glory  and  to  liberty.  Over 
the  road  they  used  to  go  with  ease,  six  years  ago  the 
Greek  troops  went,  bringing  victory  and  declaring 
equality  among  the  peoples  who  for  five  centuries 
had  been  deprived  even  of  the  idea  of  good  govern- 
ment. 

These  thoughts  I  was  communicating  to  my  com- 
panion who  was  ignorant  of  the  heroic  epic  poetry 
in  which  this  land  abounds.  My  companion  seemed 
surprised  and  was  listening  at  length  to  the  singing 
of  that  inexhaustible  poetic  fountain.  He  was  well 
conscious  of  my  being  deeply  moved  at  the  view  of 
that  magnificent  scenery,  where  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  periods  of  the  Greek  history  has  been 
acted,  or  rather  the  epic  life  of  the  Klephts  which 
is  sung  today  and  will  be  sting  to  the  end  of  time 
by  the  slender  shepherdesses  and  the  agile  shep- 
herds of  the  hills  from  whom  are  drawn  our  bravest 
regiments,  the  light  girdled  troops,  which  did  won- 
ders during  our  recent  wars. 

With  such  impressions  we  reached  Leskoviki, 
from  which  we  went  to  Erseka.  Thence,  until  we 
entered  the  valley  of  Korytsa,  the  scenery  was 
monotonous  and  melancholy.  There  are  no  woods, 
no  rivers,  and  no  charming  scenes.  Everywhere 
there  are  barren  hills  and  mountains  and  along  the 
whole  distance  women  and  children,  many  of  whom 
were  barely  seven  years  old,  were  crushing  stones 
for  the  maintenance  of  the   military   road.     This 

11 


toilsome  labor  impressed  one  with  the  struggle  for 
existence  which  these  children  of  Epirus  begin  so 
prematurely.  All  these  children  spoke  Greek.  I 
asked  them  whether  they  were  going  to  school. 
They  answered  me  with  some  bitterness  that  when 
the  Greek  administration  withdrew,  their  teachers 
left  with  it,  and  that  on  this  account  their  schools 
were  closed.  Their  priests,  however,  had  remained, 
and  the  church  gathers  around  her  these  small  chil- 
dren, whose  ordinary  course  of  life  has  been  dis- 
turbed by  the  war. 

Finally,  we  entered  a  well  cultivated  plain  sur- 
rounded by  the  mountains  of  Osiaza,  which  branch 
off  from  the  Illizian  Tomaros  and  join  Gora  on  the 
north.  On  the  north  also  rise  the  mountains  of 
Xerovounion  and  Livaniscos,  which  are  scions  of 
Galitsista.  These  mountains  serve  as  a  blue  frame 
to  the  verdant  plain  which  appeared  before  us  in 
all  its  beauty.  It  smiled  with  that  emerald  spright- 
liness  bestowed  by  nature  on  the  northern  sections 
of  Greece,  which  are  unvisited  by  the  dog  days  and 
but  slightly  touched  by  the  destructive  breezes  of 
Sirocco.  It  was  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
when  we  were  entering  the  plain.  And  yet,  at  that 
altitude,  we  did  not  feel  the  slightest  discomfort  of 
the  burning  heat.  A  little  while  before,  a  benevo- 
lent shower  had  purified  the  atmosphere  and  re- 
freshing breezes  came  down  from  the  mountains. 
This  plain  has  a  longitude  of  sixty  kilometers  and 
a  latitude  of  twenty;  it  touches  on  its  northeastern 
side  the  town  of  Viglista,  where  a  gate  is  formed 
between  Morava  and   Swesda  facing  towards  the 

12 


valley  of  Aleacmon;  this  valley  stretches  from  the 
west  towards  the  east  and  is  divided  by  the  river 
Decolis,  the  Eordaicus  of  the  ancients.  Besides 
this  river,  other  smaller  streams  irrigate  the  plain 
of  Corytsa,  among  which  is  Moravas  flowing 
through  the  city,  and  Donnavestis,  a  short  distance 
from  it. 

From  a  height  of  about  one  hundred  meters  we 
see  the  entire  plain  spread  out  like  an  immense  Ori- 
ental rug  wth  its  long  river  fibrils ;  at  a  distance  of 
a  few  kilometers  beyond,  the  great  Lake  Soviane, 
which  I  visited  the  following  day,  reflected  the 
light  of  the  sun  most  brilliantly. 

As  far  as  I  know,  the  lake  is  not  mentioned  by 
the  ancient  writers,  Greek  or  Roman.  I  guess 
from  this  that  it  was  formed  by  Eordaicus  later, 
and  not  far  in  the  distant  past,  through  the  gradual 
formation  of  a  cruse  for  storing  part  of  its  waters. 
This,  one  might  guess  also  from  the  thickets  which 
are  to  be  seen  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  In 
this  wonderful  plain  rises  Corytsa.  We  entered 
through  the  broad  avenue  on  which  the  best  of  her 
institutions  are  erected.  This  avenue  gives  to  the 
city  an  entirely  European  and  modern  aspect.  It 
has  nothing  that  reminds  one  of  the  cities  of  Epirus 
and  of  Macedonia.  The  strongest  impression  is 
created  by  the  Greek  Church  of  St.  George,  a 
newly  constructed  and  large  church,  built  on  the 
cite  of  an  old  chaplet  by  George  Docos  at  whose  ex- 
pense there  was  erected  also  one  of  the  schools  of 
Corytsa  for  girls.  This  neighborhood  is  called 
Genimachalas,  i.  e.,  new  neighborhood.     A  short 

13 


while  ago  the  Austrian  aeroplanes  came  down  upon 
this  neighborhood,  and  the  church  suffered  consid- 
erable damage.  One  of  the  bombs  pierced  the 
dome  of  the  church  and  fell  inside.  Fortunately, 
at  that  hour  the  Christians  were  not  attending  mass, 
so  that  only  the  icon  of  the  Almighty  and  the  mar- 
ble floor  suffered  from  the  German  brutality. 
But  in  the  houses  round  about  many  were  the  vic- 
tims from  the  explosion.  Especially  women  and 
children  which  at  that  hour,  care  free  and  happy, 
were  playing  in  the  streets.  Corytsa  is  not  a  forti- 
fied city,  but  the  German  barbarity  makes  no  dis- 
tinctions, and  drops  its  murderous  materials  for  no 
military  reason,  but  simply  for  the  purpose  of  ef- 
fecting evil. 

The  city,  nevertheless,  in  spite  of  the  recent  sad 
event,  had  not  lost  its  usual  appearance,  and  the 
crowd  passed  through  that  beautiful  avenue,  which 
creates  the  first  pleasing  impression  of  the  civili- 
zation and  prosperity  of  its  inhabitants. 

But  it  is  not  this  avenue  alone  that  gives  the  im- 
pression of  sprightliness  and  prosperity.  Most  of 
the  streets  are  broad,  even  the  tortuous  alleys  have 
that  characteristic  charm  possessed  by  the  old  cities 
of  Epirus  and  Macedonia.  They  preserve  the  an- 
cient Oriental  rhythm  in  accordance  with  which  the 
inhabitants  built  their  homes  in  the  depths  of  the 
gardens  to  conceal  from  the  conqueror's  view  their 
moral  and  material  superiority  that  they  might  not 
arouse  his  envy  and  greed. 


14 


III. 

In  the  narrow  alleys  one  can  study  the  life  of  the 
people  of  this  city,  distinguish  even  their  ancient 
ways  and  efforts  with  which  for  centuries  they  were 
preparing  to  regain  their  political  independence 
through  the  creation  of  an  intellectual  superiority. 
There  are  to  be  found  still  in  those  little  alleys  the 
Turkish  calderims  which  are  the  scourge  of  the  un- 
accustomed feet  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  new 
cities.  In  the  somewhat  broader  streets,  however, 
there  are  new  houses,  and  on  the  edges  of  the  side- 
walks rows  of  thick-leaved  trees,  whose  foliage 
unites  with  the  gardens  of  the  houses;  their  tower- 
ing plants  conquer  the  garden  walls  and  overflow 
so  abundantly  that  they  present  an  emerald  green 
network  similar  to  'the  theatrical  scenery  of  the  an- 
cient idyls.  In  the  depths  of  the  courtyards  which 
have  been  transformed  into  flower  gardens  by  the 
artistic  sense  of  the  women  of  Corytsa,  are  to  be 
seen  the  houses.  I  visited  many  of  them.  The  com- 
fort, luxury  and  abundance  of  the  Oriental  rugs, 
the  menterlkiaj  those  immense  divans  by  the  broad 
hearth,  the  silver  shyrets  made  by  the  Venetians 
and  the  Calorytes  of  Epirus,  the  ancient  gilded 
crystal  articles  which  come  also  from  Venice,  'the 
courteous  manners  of  the  ladies,  their  natural  artis- 
tic taste  in  dress,  their  Greek  precision  in  speech — 
all' these  show  that  one  is  in  the  midst  of  a  city 
which  always  had  an  advanced  civilization  and 
which  has  indeed  been  one  of  the  centres  of  Greek 
culture  during  the  years  of  slavery. 

15 


What  is  also  a  surprise  is  the  extreme  cleanli- 
ness of  this  city.  The  houses,  the  hallways,  the 
courtyards,  all  shine  brightly.  This  cleanliness  ex- 
tends also  to  the  streets  and  thoroughfares,  a  phe- 
nomenon in  this  handsome  Greek  city,  truly  won- 
derful. Turkey  has  not  accustomed  the  East  with 
such  phenomena.  The  sense  of  civic  cleanliness  is 
not  at  all  developed  among  the  Turks,  much  less 
.among  the  Albanians.  It  is  an  exclusively  Greek 
virtue,  inherited  from  the  ancient  civilization  of 
the  race.  Strictly '  speaking,  Corytsa  does  not  be- 
long to  Epirus.  It  belongs  much  more  to  Mace- 
donia, or  rather  to  both.  It  is  undoubtedly  the 
cleanest  and  the  most 'beautiful  city  of  Epirus  and 
Western  Macedonia.  One  can  safely  say  it  is  the 
centre  which  unites  Western  Macedonia  with 
Epirus.  Through  it  passes  the  broad'  thoroughfare 
which  joins  these  two  sections  of  the  Greek  state. 
Without  Corytsa  their  contiguity  is  interrupted. 
It  is  naturally,  therefore,  impossible  to  separate 
Corytsa  from  these  two  districts  of  the  Grecian 
land.  But  independently  of  this,  80  per  cent  of  the 
population  of  Corytsa  is  purely '  Greek.  All  their 
interests  are  inseparably  bound  together  with  those 
of  Greek  Macedonia  and  Epirus.  If  this  beautiful 
city  is  forcibly  separated  from' them  it  is  bound  to 
suffer  inevitable  decay  and  to  see  its  people  ex- 
patriated seeking  to  live  elsewhere  in  accordance 
with  their  racial  conscience  and  material  interests. 

History,  as  far  as  I  know,  does  not  relate  in  what 
manner  and  when  Corytsa  was  founded,  as  it  tells 
about  Ochrida    (Lychnidon),  Castoria  and  other 

16 


nearby  cities.  The  geographers  mention  that  until 
1487  Corytsa  was  an  obscure  village  called  Epis- 
cope,  numbering  about  fifteen  houses  of  peasants. 
At  that  period  the  Sultan,  Mahomed  II,  the  con- 
queror of  Constantinople,  much  before  the  con- 
quest, passed  through  this  country  and  reached 
Panarite  of  Premete ;  he  took  with  him  Elias  Bey,'  a 
young  Ottomanized  Macedonian  who  distinguished 
himself  in  many  battles  and  especially  during  the 
capture  of  Constantinople v  when  he  took  Hypsoma- 
theia,  one  of  the  densely  inhabited  suburbs  of  the 
city.  In  his  old  age  Elias  Bey  asked  of  the  Sultan 
Bayiazet  IV,  the  successor  of  Mohamed,  permis- 
sion to  return  and  die  in  his  own  country.  Bayiazet 
as  a  mark  of  special  favor  towards  Elias  Bey,  who 
bore  the  title  '  Mirahor-Ebel,  i.  e.,  first  keeper  of 
the  Horse,  granted  him  the  usufruct  of  that  coun- 
try and  made  him  governor  with  hereditary  rights. 

Elias  Bey  returned  to  his  'country  and  estab- 
lished himself  at  Corytsa.  When  he  died,  he 
turned  his  lands  into  Vacouphia  or  sacra  so  that 
they  would  become  inalienable.  His  descendants 
until  today  receive  the  income  from  them.  Since 
that  time  Episcope,  the  unimportant  village,  little 
by  little  grew  into  a  town  and  the  town  into  the 
handsome  modern  city. 

Yet  this  historical  note  does  not  solve  rthe  ques- 
tion, for  I  saw  in  the  code  of  one  of  the  monasteries 
of  Mt.  Athos  that  some1  monk  from  Corytsa  was 
named  as  its  founder  way  back  in  1320.  From  this 
it  becomes  evident'that  the  Corytsa  of  Mirahor- 
Elias  Bey  pre-existed  him.    In  the   ancient   times 

17 


this  district  was  called  the  land  of  the  Kallekini  and 
was  included  in  the  territory  of  Illirian  Eordaea. 
During  the  Byzantine  times  there  was  issued  an  im- 
perial golden  bull  dated  1020,  which  among  other 
episcopates  coming  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
first  autocephalus  archbishopric  of  Justinian,  men- 
tions that  of  Castoria  within  the  ecclesiastical  juris- 
diction of  which  fell  Corytsa  under  the  name  of 
Corestos.  As  it  is  well  known  the  autocephalus 
archbishopric  of  Ochrida  was  maintained  until 
1767  when  it  was  'abolished  through  the  efforts  of 
the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  Samuel  III. 

To  the  advancement  of  Corytsa,  contributed,  to 
be  sure,  the  central  position  she  occupied  between 
southwestern  Macedonia  and  southeastern  Epirus; 
but  to  a  great  extent  it  was  the  result  of  the  ener- 
getic and  enterprising  spirit  which  distinguishes 
the  Greek  race.  Until  the  beginning  of  the  tenth 
century  Corytsa  does  not  show  any  special  prog- 
ress. She  does  not  have,  one  might  'say,  a  great 
history,  nor  does  she  play  an  important  role,  due  to 
the  superority  of  the  neighboring  city,  Moschopo- 
lis.  She  does  not  appear  at  all  as  a  commercial 
centre.  But  from  that  period  she  becomes  one  of 
the  most  important  centres  of  Greek  culture,  and 
intellectual  activity  is  transferred  from  Moscho- 
polis  to  here.  By  this  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  be- 
fore that  time  Corytsa  was  entirely  lacking  in  cul- 
tural life.  On  the  contrary,  from  the  year  1700  the 
church  of  Zoodochos  Peige  had  been  erected  with 
its  peculiar  colonnade  and  its  wonderful  altar,  the 
work  of  Epirotic  wood   carving  which   developed 

18 


and  received  an  altogother  artistic  character  among 
the  Ionian  Islanders.  People  who  decorate  their 
city  with  such  works  of  art  could  not  have  been 
altogether  barren  of  the  sense  of  the  beautiful. 
They  must  have  tasted  of  the  fruit  of  culture.  But 
from  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
Corytsa  takes  a  foremost  position  among  the  Greek 
cities  of  Western  Macedonia  and  surpasses  even 
Kozane,  which  flourished  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
maintaining  a  lyceum  in  which  one  of  'the  greatest 
teachers  of  that  century,  Eugenios  Boulgaris  from 
Corfu,  taught. 


IV. 


In  Corytsa  there  is  a  large  section  called  the 
"School  District."  That  is  the  Latin  neighborhood 
of  the  city.  In  that' neighborhood  are  the  Greek 
educational  institutions.  At  the  apex  of  the  group 
is  the  Gymnasium  maintained  since  1840.  It  has  a 
library  of  200  volumes  and  some  small  collections 
of  insects,  minerals  and  native  petrifications.  It 
has,  also,  a  physical  laboratory  and  has  always 
operated  in  accordance  with  the  curricula  of  the 
Lyceums  of  the  Greek  state. 

But  this  Gymnasium  is  not  the  first  Lyceum 
erected  in  Corytsa.  It  was  transformed  into  a  gym- 
nasium from  the  middle  of  the  last  century  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  educational  laws  of  Greece;  it 
existed,  however,  since  1724,  that' is  from  the  time 

19 


the  cathedral  church  was  erected  and  Corytsa  be- 
gan to  assume  the  appearance  of  a  city. 

This  Institution  discloses  something  very  curious 
indeed.  Those  who  wanted  to  stir  the  waters  in 
Vienna  and  represent  at  one  time  Corytsa  as  a  city 
where  the  so-called  intellectual  life 'of  the  Alban- 
ians centered,  always  bring  forth  Euthymios 
Mitkos  as  the  leader  of  the  Albanian  literature. 
He  did,  indeed,  collect  and' edit  some  stories  and 
some  Albanian  songs,  using  the  Greek  alphabet 
because  there  never  existed  any  Albanian. 

But  he  did  this,  in  order  that  the  more  vulgar  of 
the  Albanians  who  were  ignorant  of  the  Greek, 
might  read  these  products  of  the  Albanian  folk 
literature.  He  never  believed,' however,  that  an  Al- 
banian could  receive  any  education  other  than 
Greek.  He  had  received  a  Greek  education  him- 
self and  considered  himself  a  Greek,  'Mitkos  com- 
posed Greek  poems,  which  though  they  lack  liter- 
ary value  and  inspiration,  they  prove,  nevertheless, 
the  Greek  sentiments  of  the  man.  On  the  left  wing 
of  the  Greek  Gymnasium,  there  is  on  the  wall  an 
epigram  in  verse  very  characteristic  of  this  poet 
which  belies  those  who  impudently  speak  of  Al- 
banian literature,  and  bears  the  signature  of  Mit- 
kos.   It  reads  thus : 


"Truly  a  large  number  of  students  has  come  out  from  the 
school,  who  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  sciences  or  the 
practical  arts  and  who  reflect  honor  on  the  Greek  kintelligence 
and  diligence." 


20 


To  the  right  of  the  Greek  Gymnasium  there  rises 
another  building,  the  Mutual  Teaching  School,  es- 
tablished by  the  benefactors  of  the  city,  Demetrios 
and  Anastasios  Liatske.  'Intended  for  a  Mutual 
Teaching  School  when  that  method  was  in  vogue,  it 
operated  as  such  until  1887.  Since  then,  like  the 
rest  of  the  schools,  it  followed  the  educational  sys- 
tem of  the  Greek  state.  This  school  has  operated 
since  1867  with  as  many  as  440  students.  Owing 
to  the  fact,  however,  that  it  could  not  take  in  the 
constantly  increasing  number  of  students,  there 
was  another  municipal  school  erected  in  1888  with 
220  students. 

Sixty-five  years  ago,  there  was  also  established  in 
Corytsa  the  first  Greek  school  for  girls.  This  build- 
ing was  burned  down  in  1822,  but  in  the  same  year 
it  was  rebuilt  even  more  beautiful  at  the  expense 
of  another  benefactor  of  the  city,  George  Dokos. 
This  brilliant  educational  institution  provides  com- 
plete education  to  the  girls  of  Corytsa.  It  is  in 
this  school  that  the  elegant  misses  of  Corytsa  are 
brought  up  in  Greek  refinement  and  culture.  It  is 
from  this  institution  they  receive  their  Greek  senti- 
ments which  are  so  true  and  deep  that  when  it  was 
decided  Corytsa  was  to  be  included  in  that  lifeless 
state  of  Prince  Wied,  they  were  the  first  to  raise  the 
banner  of  revolt  during  which  streams  of  blood 
flowed,  in  the  streets  of  Cortysa  for  the  regaining  of 
her  independence. 

But  besides  the  school  for  girls  there  are  two 
Greek  kindergartens.  One  of  these  was  built  by 
the  Association  of  Corytsa,  the  other  by  a  benef  ac- 

21 


tor  of  the  city,  Vasilios  Tiatsis,  in  1873.  Both  of 
these  are  providing  education  to  more  than  450 
girls. 

All  these  educational  institutions  are  maintained 
from  the  income  of  the  Lassos  funds.  This  com- 
mon educational  fund  was  established  in  1850 
while  Neophytos  was  archbishop  of  Corytsa.  All 
the  citizens  contributed  to  this  fund  but  mostly,  the 
Corytsean  merchants  and  business  men  established 
in  Egypt,  and  later  George  Bangas,  who,  while'  yet 
in  lif e,  devoted  his  great  wealth  to  philanthropic 
purposes.  This  fund  is  safely  deposited  in  the"  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Greece.  There  are  also  two  large 
buildings  of  George  Bangas  in  the  Place  de  la 
Concord  of  Athens  whose  income  is  used  for  the 
same  educational  purposes  for  which  the  Lassos 
fund  is  used. 

Two  thousand  three  hundred  students  of  both 
sexes  go  to  those  six  Greek  schools  of  the  city; 
76,000  francs 'are  spent  annually  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  these  schools,  which  came  as  I  said,  from 
legacies  of  wealthy  Corytsaeans,  who,  going  to  the 
great  commercial  centers  of  the1  world  and  there  ac- 
quiring wealth,  never  forget  their  distant  father- 
land, but  always  during  their  life  or  at  their  death, 
they  place  their  'wealth  at  the  disposal  of  the  city 
tvhere  they  first  saw  the  light  of  day,  for  the  educa- 
tion of  her  sons 

These  schools  and  those  of  the  villages  round 
about  Corytsa  make  their  appearance  as  early  as 
the  seventeenth  century  and  are  reported  in  the 
codes  deposited  with  the  holy  archbishopric.     Two 

22 


centuries '  before  the  establishment  of  the  Greek 
state,  Greek  culture  and  the  modern  Greek  civiliza- 
tion was  thriving  there.  If  the  churches,  educa- 
tional and  philanthropic  institutions,  the  develop- 
ment of  commerce  and  of  the  fine  arts  characterize 
the  progress  and  national  civilization  of  a  place, 
this  land  has  proved  as  few  have  done,  even  during 
the  years  of  slavery  'as  well  as  today,  its  Greek  con- 
science and  those  virtues  which  are  characteristic  of 
the  Greek  race. 

In  the  towns  round  about  Corytsa,  like  Emporia, 
and  Moschopolis  which  was  entirely  destroyed  last 
year  by  the  robber  bands  of  the  '  Turko- Albanian 
Saly-Boutka,  there  are  churches  built  as  early  as 
the  twelfth  century;  at  Moschopolis  alone  there 
were  in  existence  until  1916  twenty-four  churches, 
all  Greek;  their  architectural  style  and  wealth 
showed  the  prosperity  and  greatness  of  that  historic 
city  which  was  so  brutally  destroyed  under  the  very 
eyes  of  the  Germans.  Bythokoukon,  a  town  not 
more  than  twenty  kilometers  from  Corytsa,  is  be- 
decked by  fourteen  churches,  works  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  In  the  vicinity  of  Corytsa  there 
were  in  operation  during  the  Turkish  rule  and  are 
in  operation  now  one  hundred  and  twenty  schools 
of  both  sexes  with  twelve  thousand  students. 


23 


V. 

But  let  us  return  to  Gorytsa.  The  municipal 
property  of  that  city  exceeds  in  value  3,000,000 
francs  from  whose  income  there  is  maintained 
among  other  institutions,  one  hospital  and  one 
apothecary,  which  provides  drugs  to  the  poor  with- 
out cost;  dowries  also  are  provided  for  many  poor 
for  worthy  girls  of  the  city. 

Commerce,  on  the  other  hand,  is  entirely  in  Greek 
hands.  Perhaps  nowhere  is  the  Greek  conscience  so 
deeply  rooted  as  it  is  here.  All  these  justify  the 
terrible  uprising  of  the  people  of  Corytsa  in  1914, 
when  it  was  demanded  that  she  be  separated  from 
her  motherland  Greece  and  be  joined  to  the  ephem- 
eral Albanian  state  which  was  the  creation  of  Aus- 
trian policy  seeking  underhandedly  to  keep  that 
country  in  constant  turmoil. 

The  patriotism  and  the  Greek  character  of  that 
district  is  traditional  among  the  Epirotes  and 
Macedonians.  Her  inhabitants  have  never  sought 
to  identify  their  national  existence  with  that  of  the 
Albanians.  Two  examples  will  suffice  to  show  how 
jealously  they  guard  their  principles.  In  1886  the 
benefactor  of  this  city,  Anastosios  Liaptsis,  offered 
to  the  municipality  of  Corytsa  600,000  francs  for 
the  educational  institutions  maintained  by  it.  He 
placed,  however,  one  condition,  that  the  Albanian 
tongue  be  taught  in  them  two  hours  a  week.  The 
community  came  together  in  a  General  Assembly 
and  refused  that  large  gift.  Liatskis  hastened  in  a 


24 


touching  letter  to  beg  forgiveness  from  his  fellow 
countrymen  and  to  beseech  the  community  to  ac- 
cept the  gift  without  any  conditions.  Erakles 
Douros  also  offered  100,000  francs  for  the  philan- 
thropic institutions  of  the  city,  but  in  the  instru- 
ment by  which  the  gift  was  made  he  mentioned 
Christian  community  and  not  Greek.  The  com- 
munity again  gathered  together  in  a  general  assem- 
bly and  did  not  hesitate  to  reject  this  gift  also.  In 
this  manner,  the  Corytseans  showed  that  they  were 
always  Greek  by  breeding,  by  character,  by  blood 
and  by  descent  and  that  they  continue  to  be  such, 
inseparably  bound  to  their  Greek  fatherland.  And, 
indeed,  whoever  studies  that  beautiful  land  from 
the  point  of  view  of  language,  of  national  con- 
science, of  history,  of  traditions,  of  customs  and 
morals,  he  sees  everywhere  a  pure  Hellenism  ex- 
isting undiminishd  for  two  thousand  years  and 
more.  All  the  coins  found  which  date  before 
Christ,  all  the  inscriptions,  all  the  works  of  art  be- 
fore and  after  Christ,  are  as  much  Greek  as  the 
works  of  Athens  or  any  other  Greek  land.  This 
Hellenism,  nevertheless,  did  run  the  danger  of  be- 
ing assimilated  with  foreign  elements  much  in- 
ferior to  itself  in  civilization.  Great  efforts  and 
revolutionary  Uprising  of  the  inhabitants  was  re- 
quired to  suspend  decisions  which  violated  every 
principle  of  justice  and  truth. 

One  revolution  broke  out  immediately  after  the 
treaty  of  Florence.  In  the  streets  of  Corytsa  there 
are  still  traces  of  that  revolt.  The  Albanians  en- 
tered the  city  on  the  seventeenth  of  February,  1914. 

25 


Those  who  saw  that  ragged  mob  of  deserters  from 
the  Turkish  army,  accompanied  by  a  Dutch  officer 
of  Austrian  descent,  were  horrified  at  the  sight. 
The  country  was  falling  anew  into  another  and 
more  shameful  yoke.  But  a  month  had  not  elapsed 
and  the  city  as  well  as  the  villages  round  about, 
showed  that  it  was  impossible  to  suffer  the  fate  al- 
lotted them  by  the  Conference.  On  the  19th  of 
March,  1914,  the  city  was  in  full  revolutionary  or- 
gasm. On  the  same  day  Corytsa  was  divided  into 
two  military  camps  and  the  battle  from  hour  to 
hour  assumed  terrible  proportions. 

During  the  three  days  the  battle  was  carried  on 
in  the  different  sectors  of  the  city,  one  hundred  and 
fourteen  Greeks  were  killed  and  more  than  this 
number  of  Wied's  Albanians  who  had  gathered  to- 
gether from  all  sides.  This  revolution,  which  was 
unprepared  and  broke  out  suddenly,  was  apt  to  be 
checked.  The  archbishop  and  the  notables  were 
seized  and  were  taken  in  chains  to  Elbasan. 

At  this  instance  the  Gegs  revolted  against  Wied 
and  freed  the  archbishop  and  the  leading  men  of 
Corytsa.  After  the  European  war  broke  out,  the 
state  of  Wied  was  dissolved  and  Corytsa  was  occu- 
pied again  by  the  Greek  army. 

Since  then  the  vicissitudes  of  the  city  have  not 
ceased.  The  wretched  policy  of  the  deposed  King 
Constantine  gave  occasion  to  have  Corytsa  sepa- 
rated from  her  natural  Greek  administration. 
Since  then  those  wonderful  Greek  schools  which  for 
more  than  two  centuries  have  shed  the  light  of  cul- 
ture, have  ceased  to  operate  temporarily.     Corytsa 

26 


is  in  the  possession  of  the  French,  and  has  a  system 
of  administration  which  is  peculiar  indeed,  with  all 
the  signs  of  temporariness. 


VI 


There  is  no  power  on  earth  that  can  change  the 
Greek  character  of  such  a  city.  Five  centuries  of 
slavery  failed  to  do  it.  One  need  not  make  an  ex- 
tended stay  in  it,  to  perceive  the  dominating  senti- 
ments of  the  people.  A  simple  and  casual  event 
during  my  arrival  at  Corytsa,  served  as  an  occasion 
for  a  characteristic  outburst  of  the  prevailing  feel- 
ing. The  Commander  of  the  Fifth  Army  corps 
stationed  at  Jannina,  General  Meliotis  Comnenos, 
was  kind  enough  to  place  at  my  disposal  during  my 
trip  in  Macedonia,  as  a  companion,  a  non-commis- 
sioned officer  of  the  Euzones — light  girded  troops. 
The  men  of  this  corps  are  most  beloved  of  all  the 
Greek  soldiers.  These  are  the  descendants  of  the 
ancient  heroes  of  the  Greek  mountains.  They  are 
agile,  brave,  impetuous  and  swift.  Moreover,  they 
wear  the  kilts,  the  ancient  garment  of  the  fighters 
of  the  holy  struggle.  (War  of  independence, 
1821) .  My  companion  was  one  of  the  most  hand- 
some men  of  this  corps.  As  soon  as  he  appeared  in 
the  streets  of  Corytsa  a  spontaneous  demonstration 
took  place.  All  ran  forward  and  surrounded  him. 
Flowers  were  offered  him  from  all  sides,  and  in  the 
evening  the  youth  of  the  city  gave  a  dinner  in  his 
honor.    The  Corytseans  saw  in  this  agile  soldier  in- 

27 


carnated  the  idea  of  freedom  which  the  Greek  army 
six  years  ago  amid  unbounded  enthusiasm  brought 
to  the  unredeemed  people  of  Macedonia  and  Epirus 
from  the  banks  of  Ilissos.  This  liberty  was  ban- 
ished for  some  time  by  a  cruel  diplomatic  decision 
made  for  the  purpose  of  satisfying  the  secret  aims 
of  Austrian  japlicy.  This  decision  was  exactly  the 
cause  for  the  flow  of  much  blood  in  the  streets  of 
the  city. 

On  the  evening  of  my  arrival  I  met  many  Coryt- 
seans,  most  of  whom  I  knew  from  old.  They  were 
students  attending  the  University  of  Athens,  and 
frequented  the  political  and  literary  circles  of  the 
Greek  Capital,  not  only  at  the  time  that  Bulgarian 
Comitadzis  were  carrying  on  a  savage  war  to  im- 
pose themselves  by  the  knife  and  terror  upon  the 
peacable  inhabitants  of  the  village  towns,  but  even 
much  earlier.  Even  at  that  period  as  well  as  dur- 
ing the  long  period  of  slavery  the  inhabitants  of 
Corytsa  kept  in  touch  with  Athens.  Since  the  lib- 
eration of  Greece  they  turned  their  eyes  toward 
that  city  longing  for  a  political  independence,  un- 
der the  protection  of  the  Greek  flag.  Thus  in  the 
first  center  I  entered  I  found  myself  in  the  midst 
of  acquaintances  and  friends.  Then  I  recalled  the 
common  efforts  and  struggles  of  older  days.  The 
wars  of  1912-13  which  were  inspired  by  the  politi- 
cal genius  of  Eleutherios  Venizelos,  had  solved 
most  of  the  Greek  questions  which  the  Turkish  con- 
quest four  centuries  ago  had  placed  on  the  table  for 
solution.  Among  them  the  question  of  Corytza 
had  been  solved.    No  one  could  have  ever  imagined 

28 


that  this  Greek  city,  the  hearth  of  Greek  letters 
for  two  centuries,  would  be  included  in  a  state  es- 
sentially Mussulman ;  that  immediately  a  new  com- 
plex question  would  have  been  created,  and  the 
people  who  but  recently  gained  their  independence 
would  be  kept  in  constant  trouble  and  eternal 
turmoil. 

I  passed  in  Corytza  memorable  days.  Seldom 
have  I  felt  the  national  pulse  beat  stronger.  One 
evening  under  the  light  of  the  moon  in  a  garden 
outside  the  city,  several  friends  sat  down  to  a  fru- 
gal supper.  One  of  them  had  grown  gray  in  the 
constant  struggle  for  the  Greek  "Idea,"  recalling 
those  years  of  trouble  and  danger  and  looking  at 
the  present  inconceivable  situation,  lifted  his  glass 
and  suddenly  recited  two  verses  which  were  full  of 
heart-breakng  melancholy. 

"For  us  fate  has  decreed  that  we  be  ever  and  ever  fight- 
ing; ever  and  ever  killed  and  yet  live  in  slavery." 

Our  eyes  were  filled  with  tears.  For  a  moment 
those  verses  seemed  to  me  a  strong  protest  not  only 
against  fate,  but  against  human  injustice  imposed 
upon  a  people  which  by  all  human  rights  is  entitled 
to  live  in  this  world  in  accordance  with  its  wishes 
and  national  conscience.  I  thought  that  as  a  citizen 
of  free  Greece,  brought  up  from  childhood  with  the 
idea  of  justice  and  freedom,  I  should  not  accept 
such  a  statement  as  descriptive  of  the  fate  of  the 
people  of  Corytsa. 

29 


"No,"  I  cried,  "We  shall  not  be  always  fighting,  we  shall 
not  be  always  killed  and  fate  has  not  pre -determined  us  for 
everlasting  slavery.  At  the  moment  when  all  the  democratic 
nations  are  fighting  for  the  freedom  of  the  peoples,  the  slight- 
est doubt  concerning  the  fate  of  Corytsa  would  be  a  blasphemy 
against  the  Greco-Latin  civilization." 

An  old  poet  of  ours  in  similar  circumstances  re- 
cited some  verses  which  are  most  suitable  to  the 
Greek  character. 

"We  must  take  courage,  for  tomorrow  shall  bring  better 
things." 

All  of  us  are  awaiting  better  days  for  Corytsa. 
Thus  I  parted  with  those  patriots  whose  boiling 
sentiments  are  now  held  by  the  French  flag.  So 
long  as  that  flag  waves,  it  is  not  permitted  to  the 
Corytseans  to  entertain  any  doubts  about  their  fu- 
ture national  re-establishment. 


30 


OBJECTS  OF  THE  UNION, 


The  Pan-Epirotic  Union  of  America  is  organized 
for  the  purpose  of  enlightening  American  public 
opinion  on  the  national  aspirations  of  the  people  of 
Northern  Epirus  to  be  united  with  their  mother- 
oountry— Greece;  and  for  the  purpose  of  encour- 
aging and  assisting  the  members  to  adapt  them- 
selves to  the  new  conditions  of  life  in  their  adopted 
country. 


